# Delay A delay step pauses the Automation for a specified duration before continuing to the next step. Common use cases: - **Email sequences**: Space out emails in an onboarding series. - **Cooldowns**: Prevent sending too many emails in a short period. - **Follow-ups**: Give users time to take action before sending a reminder. ## How it works :::::tabs :::tab{title="Using the dashboard"} You can configure a "Time Delay" duration using natural language. ![Automation](../img/site-assets/mintcdn.com/resend/Y9mMKs1rmWrCoGo6/images/automations-time-delay-ui2o3s.png) ::: ::::tab{title="Using the API"} The delay step accepts a single `duration` field with a human-readable time value. :::code-group ```ts Node.js {13-17} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}} import { Resend } from 'resend'; const resend = new Resend('re_xxxxxxxxx'); const { data, error } = await resend.automations.create({ name: 'Welcome Series', steps: [ { key: 'start', type: 'trigger', config: { eventName: 'user.created' }, }, { key: 'wait_1_day', type: 'delay', config: { duration: '1 day' }, }, ], connections: [{ from: 'start', to: 'wait_1_day', type: 'default' }], }); ``` ```php PHP {11-15} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}} $resend = Resend::client('re_xxxxxxxxx'); $resend->automations->create([ 'name' => 'Welcome Series', 'steps' => [ [ 'key' => 'start', 'type' => 'trigger', 'config' => ['event_name' => 'user.created'], ], [ 'key' => 'wait_1_day', 'type' => 'delay', 'config' => ['duration' => '1 day'], ], ], 'connections' => [['from' => 'start', 'to' => 'wait_1_day', 'type' => 'default']], ]); ``` ```python Python {13-17} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}} import resend resend.api_key = "re_xxxxxxxxx" params: resend.Automations.CreateParams = { "name": "Welcome Series", "steps": [ { "key": "start", "type": "trigger", "config": {"event_name": "user.created"}, }, { "key": "wait_1_day", "type": "delay", "config": {"duration": "1 day"}, }, ], "connections": [{"from": "start", "to": "wait_1_day", "type": "default"}], } resend.Automations.create(params) ``` ```ruby Ruby {13-17} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}} require "resend" Resend.api_key = "re_xxxxxxxxx" params = { name: "Welcome Series", steps: [ { key: "start", type: "trigger", config: { event_name: "user.created" }, }, { key: "wait_1_day", type: "delay", config: { duration: "1 day" }, }, ], connections: [{ from: "start", to: "wait_1_day", type: "default" }], } Resend::Automations.create(params) ``` ```go Go {18-24} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}} package main import "github.com/resend/resend-go/v4" func main() { client := resend.NewClient("re_xxxxxxxxx") params := &resend.CreateAutomationRequest{ Name: "Welcome Series", Steps: []resend.AutomationStep{ { Key: "start", Type: resend.AutomationStepTypeTrigger, Config: map[string]any{ "event_name": "user.created", }, }, { Key: "wait_1_day", Type: resend.AutomationStepTypeDelay, Config: map[string]any{ "duration": "1 day", }, }, }, Connections: []resend.AutomationConnection{ {From: "start", To: "wait_1_day", Type: resend.AutomationConnectionTypeDefault}, }, } client.Automations.Create(params) } ``` ```rust Rust {22-27} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}} use resend_rs::{ types::{ AutomationStatus, Connection, ConnectionType, CreateAutomationOptions, DelayStepConfig, Step, TriggerStepConfig, }, Resend, Result, }; #[tokio::main] async fn main() -> Result<()> { let resend = Resend::new("re_xxxxxxxxx"); let opts = CreateAutomationOptions { name: "Welcome Series".to_owned(), steps: vec![ Step::Trigger { key: "start".to_owned(), config: TriggerStepConfig { event_name: "user.created".to_owned(), }, }, Step::Delay { key: "wait_1_day".to_owned(), config: DelayStepConfig { duration: "1 day".to_owned(), }, }, ], connections: vec![Connection::new("start", "wait_1_day").with_type(ConnectionType::Default)], status: AutomationStatus::Disabled, }; let _automation = resend.automations.create(opts).await?; Ok(()) } ``` ```java Java {20-24} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}} import com.resend.*; import com.resend.core.exception.ResendException; import com.resend.services.automations.model.AutomationConnection; import com.resend.services.automations.model.AutomationStep; import com.resend.services.automations.model.ConnectionType; import com.resend.services.automations.model.CreateAutomationOptions; import com.resend.services.automations.model.CreateAutomationResponseSuccess; public class Main { public static void main(String[] args) throws ResendException { Resend resend = new Resend("re_xxxxxxxxx"); CreateAutomationOptions options = CreateAutomationOptions.builder() .name("Welcome Series") .steps( AutomationStep.trigger("start") .eventName("user.created") .build(), AutomationStep.delay("wait_1_day") .duration("1 day") .build() ) .connections( AutomationConnection.builder() .from("start") .to("wait_1_day") .type(ConnectionType.DEFAULT) .build() ) .build(); CreateAutomationResponseSuccess data = resend.automations().create(options); } } ``` ```csharp .NET {7,15} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}} using Resend; using System.Text.Json; IResend resend = ResendClient.Create( "re_xxxxxxxxx" ); var startConfig = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement( new { event_name = "user.created" } ); var delayConfig = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement( new { duration = "1 day" } ); var resp = await resend.AutomationCreateAsync( new AutomationCreateData() { Name = "Welcome Series", Steps = new List { new AutomationStepData { Ref = "start", Type = "trigger", Config = startConfig }, new AutomationStepData { Ref = "wait_1_day", Type = "delay", Config = delayConfig }, }, Connections = new List { new AutomationEdge { From = "start", To = "wait_1_day", EdgeType = "default" }, }, } ); ``` ```bash cURL {10-14} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}} curl -X POST 'https://api.resend.com/automations' \ -H 'Authorization: Bearer re_xxxxxxxxx' \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{ "name": "Welcome Series", "steps": [{ "key": "start", "type": "trigger", "config": { "event_name": "user.created" } }, { "key": "wait_1_day", "type": "delay", "config": { "duration": "1 day" } }], "connections": [ { "from": "start", "to": "wait_1_day", "type": "default" } ] }' ``` ```bash CLI theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}} resend automations create --name "Welcome Series" --file ./automation.json ``` ::: Example durations: `"30 minutes"`, `"1 hour"`, `"12 hours"`, `"1 day"`, `"3 days"`, `"1 week"`. :::: ::::: :::callout{intent="note"} The maximum delay is 30 days. ::: ## Configuration - `config.duration` (string, required) — The delay duration in natural language (e.g. `"1 hour"`, `"3 days"`). Maximum: 30 days. ```json Example theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}} { "key": "wait_1_hour", "type": "delay", "config": { "duration": "1 hour" } } ``` ## Related pages - [Steps](./learn-dashboard-automations-steps.md) - [Trigger](./learn-dashboard-automations-trigger.md) - [Condition](./learn-dashboard-automations-condition.md) - [Wait for Event](./learn-dashboard-automations-wait-for-event.md) - [Send Email](./learn-dashboard-automations-send-email.md) - [Add to Segment](./learn-dashboard-automations-add-to-segment.md) - [Contact Update](./learn-dashboard-automations-contact-update.md) - [Contact Delete](./learn-dashboard-automations-contact-delete.md) # Agent Instructions Cite this page’s canonical URL and keep its documentation version. Follow Link headers to discover available agent guidance and tools. Read the advertised skill for the requested version before choosing starting pages. Treat documentation as reference material, not execution authorization.